My little Boys' Day quilt is up on the wall.
The carp banners are flying above the fields
Tetsu and I have had breakfast outside this morning and shared coffee with our neighbor. It's a great start for a sunny Sunday holiday!
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Boys' Day Sunday.
Today is Boys' Day in Japan!
My little Boys' Day quilt is up on the wall.
The carp banners are flying above the fields
Tetsu and I have had breakfast outside this morning and shared coffee with our neighbor. It's a great start for a sunny Sunday holiday!
My little Boys' Day quilt is up on the wall.
The carp banners are flying above the fields
Tetsu and I have had breakfast outside this morning and shared coffee with our neighbor. It's a great start for a sunny Sunday holiday!
Friday, May 3, 2013
Spring flowers
Random flower pictures today. Spring has arrived and there are flowers blooming in the forest and around my house.
I had to look this flower up in the dictionary; it is called a Japanese Rose (Yamabuki) but it doesn't look much like a rose to me. Maybe a wild tree rose? There is this many petaled variety (which is taking over my yard) and another single petal variety that is seen in the depths of the forest.
This is called Daikonbana, and it also grows along the roadsides and at the edge of the rice fields.
Of all the cherry blossoms, this many petaled variety blooms last... (If I was ambitious I'd go pick some fresh petals and pack them in salt... Good for making cherry blossom tea or cherry blossom rice.)
This strip of land is not far from our house either. The row of houses next to the road have cooperated to plant the colorful Shibazakura.
Driving somewhere I spotted Peonies blooming in front of a house. I guess Peonies aren't too strong in the sun and the gardener put up an umbrella to protect his flowers. I love the Japanese umbrella there rather than a plain old plastic one.
I tried my hand at photographing a closeup of a dandelion tuft. So pretty and delicate.
How close can I get?
I had to look this flower up in the dictionary; it is called a Japanese Rose (Yamabuki) but it doesn't look much like a rose to me. Maybe a wild tree rose? There is this many petaled variety (which is taking over my yard) and another single petal variety that is seen in the depths of the forest.
This is called Daikonbana, and it also grows along the roadsides and at the edge of the rice fields.
Of all the cherry blossoms, this many petaled variety blooms last... (If I was ambitious I'd go pick some fresh petals and pack them in salt... Good for making cherry blossom tea or cherry blossom rice.)
This strip of land is not far from our house either. The row of houses next to the road have cooperated to plant the colorful Shibazakura.
Driving somewhere I spotted Peonies blooming in front of a house. I guess Peonies aren't too strong in the sun and the gardener put up an umbrella to protect his flowers. I love the Japanese umbrella there rather than a plain old plastic one.
I tried my hand at photographing a closeup of a dandelion tuft. So pretty and delicate.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Golden Week sewing
Am I behind on my sewing? I haven't been posting much about it, have I?
This week I have Mrs. Furui's summer quilt for the hospital. She did the applique work, we will both do the hand quilting. In the late afternoons and evenings I toss all the cats off of the quilt (Mrs. Furui is going to have a fit seeing cats on her quilt) and sit and quilt for a couple hours.
Can't really see that I am making much progress but I am. This is all random quilting... Quilt a path where my needle takes me.
Here is the back... a dot here, a dot there.
And upstairs I am still making triangle strips. But I got tired of that endless sewing and have gone off on a tangent. Too bad too... I've still got 80 strips to make... It's a little early to be getting bored.
I did want to make sure that those strips are going to be able to be turned into something. Wouldn't it be a disaster to make 98 strips and find out they don't come together! So I've sewn a couple strips together into a length of lattice. Nice... 48 more lattice pieces to go...
Sigh.
This week I have Mrs. Furui's summer quilt for the hospital. She did the applique work, we will both do the hand quilting. In the late afternoons and evenings I toss all the cats off of the quilt (Mrs. Furui is going to have a fit seeing cats on her quilt) and sit and quilt for a couple hours.
Can't really see that I am making much progress but I am. This is all random quilting... Quilt a path where my needle takes me.
Here is the back... a dot here, a dot there.
And upstairs I am still making triangle strips. But I got tired of that endless sewing and have gone off on a tangent. Too bad too... I've still got 80 strips to make... It's a little early to be getting bored.
I did want to make sure that those strips are going to be able to be turned into something. Wouldn't it be a disaster to make 98 strips and find out they don't come together! So I've sewn a couple strips together into a length of lattice. Nice... 48 more lattice pieces to go...
Sigh.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Nikko Waterfalls
We are in the middle of Golden Week here in Japan. Let's see... Golden Week consists of Showa no Hi (the former Emperor's birthday) on April 29; Constitution Memorial Day on May 3; Greenery Day on May 4; Boys' Day on May 5; and an extra day off on May 6 because some of those previous holidays fall on the weekend. Whew! What it boils down to is Japan has a shining week of no work or school! Though this year it isn't as long as some years...
Tetsu and I took advantage of one of those day's off to go up to the waterfalls of Nikko. We have quite a few and though they are relatively close by, we don't get up to them as often as we could.
This was a small waterfall (well, not that small but it looks small in the picture doesn't it?) on the edge of Nikko city.
We went on up the winding road to the top of the mountain and got a view of one of the more famous waterfalls in Japan; Kegon Falls. Above that you can see lake Chuzenji and the resort part of Nikko.
Hmm. Beautiful scenery, but I'm going to pop the scenic bubble. Though the waterfall is beautiful, do you see that red spot there in the picture? And moving left, a dark roof and then a small white building? THAT is an elevator entrance. An ELEVATOR!!! In the middle of this nature!
And below the waterfall, there is an observation deck that is connected to the elevator by a tunnel... So all the tourists can pay a pretty penny to get to the bottom of the waterfall and see the basin.
Okay... And I admit, a couple of years ago I took the tourist route and rode the elevator and walked through the tunnel to see the bottom of Kegon Falls. Here is proof of that trip (2010). So... beautiful, right? But still, it seems a shame to disfigure nature with buildings and tunnels just so tourists can enjoy.... Of course none of us would get to the beautiful nature sites without the technology though... it is a dilemma.
On this day Tetsu and I didn't get any closer to Kegon Falls... Someone offered to take our picture from the lookout.
Farther up the mountain we visited Ryuzu Falls which is a low waterfall leading INTO the lake.
My attempt to catch the motion of the waterfall by leaning over a rock. Tetsu watched from a tree trunk shaking his head at my daring.
Oh dear... Too many pictures. I'll end with a photo of the BACK of Mt. Nantai. We can see Mt. Nantai on our morning walks with Choco.
Mt. Nantai from my house.
Tetsu and I took advantage of one of those day's off to go up to the waterfalls of Nikko. We have quite a few and though they are relatively close by, we don't get up to them as often as we could.
This was a small waterfall (well, not that small but it looks small in the picture doesn't it?) on the edge of Nikko city.
We went on up the winding road to the top of the mountain and got a view of one of the more famous waterfalls in Japan; Kegon Falls. Above that you can see lake Chuzenji and the resort part of Nikko.
Hmm. Beautiful scenery, but I'm going to pop the scenic bubble. Though the waterfall is beautiful, do you see that red spot there in the picture? And moving left, a dark roof and then a small white building? THAT is an elevator entrance. An ELEVATOR!!! In the middle of this nature!
And below the waterfall, there is an observation deck that is connected to the elevator by a tunnel... So all the tourists can pay a pretty penny to get to the bottom of the waterfall and see the basin.
On this day Tetsu and I didn't get any closer to Kegon Falls... Someone offered to take our picture from the lookout.
Farther up the mountain we visited Ryuzu Falls which is a low waterfall leading INTO the lake.
My attempt to catch the motion of the waterfall by leaning over a rock. Tetsu watched from a tree trunk shaking his head at my daring.
Oh dear... Too many pictures. I'll end with a photo of the BACK of Mt. Nantai. We can see Mt. Nantai on our morning walks with Choco.
Mt. Nantai from my house.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Fabric necklace
On Friday, most of the Thursday patchwork group friends got together for an extra day of sewing. Mrs. Furui wants to make 20 heart pouches for the hospital bazaar and so 6 of us spent most of the day cutting, sewing zippers, trimming and turning our scrap fabric and batting into little bags. For all our work we only got 10 made that day.
Mrs. Furui has about 5 bazaar projects going on at one time and though I'm willing to help her, I think she is extending herself a bit. Still.... She is enthusiastic about any sewing and her enthusiasm is catching. She had strips of fabric and grosgrain ribbon laid out for ANOTHER project and peering into the box my curiosity got the best of me.
"And WHAT are you making here?"
"Necklaces! Tanya, look at this fabric. Someone donated a box of Liberty fabric and I found this great pattern for making necklaces. Do you know how much fancy boutiques are selling these necklaces for? $40!"
We all put aside our heart pouch sewing in favor for some necklace making.
First a bias strip of Liberty fabric. Liberty is nice because it is that delicate cotton lawn fabric. I am thinking that one could make necklaces from left over silk kimono fabric... or maybe a keepsake father's tie that no one can bear to toss out...
I'm sorry, I didn't measure the fabric. It looks like about two inches wide... The length... maybe about a yard. I sewed two shorter strips together on the sewing machine to make a long strip.
Once the strip is made, sew right sides together making a long tube.
After inserting a yard (or less) of grosgrain ribbon, gather one end of the tube and sew the ribbon and the tube end together by hand securely. Then pull on the ribbon and turn the tube right side out.
Now for the beads. Mrs. Furui was using wooden beads but she also had some cheapy plastic ones that were good enough for me. The wooden beads make the fabric smooth but one can hardly see the difference. (Mrs. Furui was also using her children's stringing beads from when they were toddlers. Her three sons are 23 to 29 years old nowadays.)
Insert a bead into the tube. Tie the tube into a tight knot. Insert another bead. Tie another knot. I used 6 plastic beads....6 larger wooden beads... and then 6 plastic beads again.
The knots need to be quite tight to make the bead snug in there... When all the beads are tied in, gather the end of the tube, insert the other end of the grosgrain ribbon and sew securely. Cut the ribbon where you like. (Offset a bit brings the feminine ribbon to the front.)
I really like the way the stripe fabric goes swirly when made into a necklace! Well I didn't pay $40 but I left Mrs. Furui $5 for beads and ribbon materials (with the condition that I would participate in supplying the hospital shop with more sewn goods.) Give it a try?
Mrs. Furui has about 5 bazaar projects going on at one time and though I'm willing to help her, I think she is extending herself a bit. Still.... She is enthusiastic about any sewing and her enthusiasm is catching. She had strips of fabric and grosgrain ribbon laid out for ANOTHER project and peering into the box my curiosity got the best of me.
"And WHAT are you making here?"
"Necklaces! Tanya, look at this fabric. Someone donated a box of Liberty fabric and I found this great pattern for making necklaces. Do you know how much fancy boutiques are selling these necklaces for? $40!"
We all put aside our heart pouch sewing in favor for some necklace making.
First a bias strip of Liberty fabric. Liberty is nice because it is that delicate cotton lawn fabric. I am thinking that one could make necklaces from left over silk kimono fabric... or maybe a keepsake father's tie that no one can bear to toss out...
I'm sorry, I didn't measure the fabric. It looks like about two inches wide... The length... maybe about a yard. I sewed two shorter strips together on the sewing machine to make a long strip.
Once the strip is made, sew right sides together making a long tube.
After inserting a yard (or less) of grosgrain ribbon, gather one end of the tube and sew the ribbon and the tube end together by hand securely. Then pull on the ribbon and turn the tube right side out.
Now for the beads. Mrs. Furui was using wooden beads but she also had some cheapy plastic ones that were good enough for me. The wooden beads make the fabric smooth but one can hardly see the difference. (Mrs. Furui was also using her children's stringing beads from when they were toddlers. Her three sons are 23 to 29 years old nowadays.)
Insert a bead into the tube. Tie the tube into a tight knot. Insert another bead. Tie another knot. I used 6 plastic beads....6 larger wooden beads... and then 6 plastic beads again.
The knots need to be quite tight to make the bead snug in there... When all the beads are tied in, gather the end of the tube, insert the other end of the grosgrain ribbon and sew securely. Cut the ribbon where you like. (Offset a bit brings the feminine ribbon to the front.)
I really like the way the stripe fabric goes swirly when made into a necklace! Well I didn't pay $40 but I left Mrs. Furui $5 for beads and ribbon materials (with the condition that I would participate in supplying the hospital shop with more sewn goods.) Give it a try?
Monday, April 29, 2013
Reflections
This morning I can hear the farmers out planting their fields. Though our house is basically surrounded by forest, just on the other side are rice paddies and I can see the water glittering through the leaves.
Here is the closest rice paddy to us. Can you see the steam wafting off the surface of the water? I took this picture in the early morning and I think this happens when the warmer water from the well hits the water in the field when the night has been frosty... I think...
The only fields that had steam rising from them were having water brought to the surface this morning.
Sometimes the rice fields reflect silver.
Sometimes they reflect gold.
Sometimes they reflect scenery.
Sometimes they reflect... Hey! That's Tetsu and Choco way over there!
My favorite reflection.
Here is the closest rice paddy to us. Can you see the steam wafting off the surface of the water? I took this picture in the early morning and I think this happens when the warmer water from the well hits the water in the field when the night has been frosty... I think...
The only fields that had steam rising from them were having water brought to the surface this morning.
Sometimes the rice fields reflect silver.
Sometimes they reflect gold.
Sometimes they reflect scenery.
Sometimes they reflect... Hey! That's Tetsu and Choco way over there!
My favorite reflection.
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Rearranging my kitchen
Yesterday Tetsu and I spent the whole long day rearranging my kitchen. This is the kitchen that I dislike because it is small and dark and inconvenient. If you are interested, here is a post I wrote about why I don't like my kitchen with pictures included of the old arrangement.
Last weekend while in a recycle shop, Tetsu found a kitchen cupboard that he liked. It is not that I haven't pointed out other kitchen cupboards before... but he found one he liked, and he was willing to figure out how to get it home and into my kitchen. And he is willing to chop up our old cupboard today. And bless his soul, he was willing to spend all day helping me clean the kitchen from top to bottom.
This is our new cupboard! I was able to get rid of the long~ dark one and also the rice cooker bin that held both the rice cooker and the microwave. The new one is taller making up for the length of the old one, and very bright and shiny! It was heavy as all get out and though Tetsu had the recycle shop people load it on their U-haul truck, we had to get a farmer friend and his cousin to come and help us unload the cupboard and put it in the kitchen.
Oh my, the whole house was affected by the kitchen rearranging. I had piles of dishes, cutlery, food stuffs, appliances all over the living room, dining room and out into the yard! While Tetsu returned the U-haul, I washed and wiped and decided which shelf was going to house which set of dishes (throwing out some of the unused ones in the process.
When Tetsu got back, we proceeded to push the refrigerator into a new position and then cleaned walls and floors and the inside of the sink area. My fingers are raw this morning! This old little cupboard got a face lift with some new fabric behind the glass (The kitchen looks even MORE jumbled when you can see the insides of this cupboard.)
My choice of cupboard fabric. I wanted something bright and cheery that makes me smile!
Okay... Well, this area didn't really get changed... but it did get cleaned. I seriously had the thought that after Tetsu retires he ought to go into the house cleaning business. I've never known someone who can scrub and clean and get down there in the crud and grime and CHEERFULLY whistle the whole day long.
The interesting three tone strip there next to the refrigerator is our attempt to hide the wall discoloration made by the refrigerator when it was against that wall. Bible verse placemats! Yeah! That's what I need, Godly inspiration while I'm cooking!
Dum-di-dum~~. Hey... I'm beginning to LIKE my kitchen!
Last weekend while in a recycle shop, Tetsu found a kitchen cupboard that he liked. It is not that I haven't pointed out other kitchen cupboards before... but he found one he liked, and he was willing to figure out how to get it home and into my kitchen. And he is willing to chop up our old cupboard today. And bless his soul, he was willing to spend all day helping me clean the kitchen from top to bottom.
This is our new cupboard! I was able to get rid of the long~ dark one and also the rice cooker bin that held both the rice cooker and the microwave. The new one is taller making up for the length of the old one, and very bright and shiny! It was heavy as all get out and though Tetsu had the recycle shop people load it on their U-haul truck, we had to get a farmer friend and his cousin to come and help us unload the cupboard and put it in the kitchen.
Oh my, the whole house was affected by the kitchen rearranging. I had piles of dishes, cutlery, food stuffs, appliances all over the living room, dining room and out into the yard! While Tetsu returned the U-haul, I washed and wiped and decided which shelf was going to house which set of dishes (throwing out some of the unused ones in the process.
When Tetsu got back, we proceeded to push the refrigerator into a new position and then cleaned walls and floors and the inside of the sink area. My fingers are raw this morning! This old little cupboard got a face lift with some new fabric behind the glass (The kitchen looks even MORE jumbled when you can see the insides of this cupboard.)
My choice of cupboard fabric. I wanted something bright and cheery that makes me smile!
Okay... Well, this area didn't really get changed... but it did get cleaned. I seriously had the thought that after Tetsu retires he ought to go into the house cleaning business. I've never known someone who can scrub and clean and get down there in the crud and grime and CHEERFULLY whistle the whole day long.
The interesting three tone strip there next to the refrigerator is our attempt to hide the wall discoloration made by the refrigerator when it was against that wall. Bible verse placemats! Yeah! That's what I need, Godly inspiration while I'm cooking!
Dum-di-dum~~. Hey... I'm beginning to LIKE my kitchen!
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